Carmel, Iowa — Five fire departments were called out on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, near Carmel.
According to Sioux Center Fire Chief David Van Holland, about 7:30 p.m., the Sioux Center Fire Department was called to the report of a cornstalk pile fire near a shed at 3006 360th, between Highway 75 and Carmel, about a third of a mile west of the old airport. The chief reports it was Bar-K Cattle’s property.
He says those who were there when the fire started were grinding stalks when a bearing apparently went out on the grinder and it started throwing sparks, which got into the pile of ground stalks. He tells us they sprayed some water and separated the good from the bad and hauled it out to a nearby field to extinguish and cool the material.
Van Holland says no injuries were reported.
The fire department was assisted by the Hull, Rock Valley, Boyden, and Ireton fire departments, who each brought a tanker of water.
Chief Van Holland reports that between 100 and 200 round bales-worth of ground stalks were damaged.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about an hour and a half. Van Holland says considering the recent fire they were at three days in a row, this response was a welcome change.
